Kason-3 Months!

My little guy-

I am LOVING every second with you and your big sister. Your little personality has really started to bloom the last few weeks, and you are just the sweetest little baby. You love to be held and sang to. You enjoy your sleep, but fight it for a few minutes before you finally give in. Your sleep is a lot like your sisters was, but I think you are better at falling asleep in the car. You don't really like being in the car seat when you are awake and not tired though. I can't blame you. You just want to explore the world around you, and being restrained limits you from doing that. You do like being rocked to sleep, especially with a warm fuzzy blanket wrapped around you, and you will fall asleep in the Ergo as well.

You still eat every 2-3 hours, and your nighttime sleep varies. We got thrown off our routine this past month because we took our first family vacation to San Antonio. You were a trooper, for sure! You did awesome on the flights, and you were an angel at Sea World! We had a great time, but we could tell you definitely missed your own bed, and your home! Those metal hotel cribs just are NOT the same. The flights fell during your 'awake' time, and many people were surprised that you were even on the flight. You were just a jolly little guy. You only got a little fussy on the very last flight home, but we were all officially 'done' by then after a delay in our traveling that day. We got comments on several people on how you looked like a little baby doll. I'd say it's your bright blue eyes that get you those remarks. They make my heart melt every time!

It is so much fun to see the interactions between you and your sister already. She calls you Kason, but also 'little guy.' If you are crying, she says, "Little guy, little guy." If she isn't too happy about you crying, she says, "Kason, stop it." Ha! She also loves checking on you once you're awake from your naps. You are definitely learning to sleep through the noise that a toddler in the house brings, but you do get woke up from time to time because of the noise. Sorry about that! ; ) My favorite thing Lexi says to you is, "Little guy, little guy, I haven't seen you all day" after you wake from a nap. She also volunteers 'little guy' to take a bath first before she has to. You don't seem to mind though. You LOVE a warm bath! Oh- and you found your hands this month! They keep you entertained these days along with grabbing for toys and looking at yourself in the mirror.

We cannot imagine our lives without you, and look forward to all the fun times to come!

A few stats--you don't go back to the doctor until next month, so this is just your sizes.

Diaper- 1
Clothing- 0-3

XOXO,
Mommy, Daddy, & Lexi

Lexi-23 Months (April 23)

Lexi--

I figured I better hurry and get this post published before you turned two in a couple of days. Words truly cannot express how bittersweet it is to have an almost two-year-old. I feel like the age two means we are officially graduating from the baby stage, and I just CANNOT accept that. I won't. Nope. You will ALWAYS be my baby.

Now that we've got that cleared up, let's catch up on what you're up to these days...

We were at Target (of course) and you looked at a rack of baby clothes and said, "These are cute!" I died. Your daddy's look on his face said it all. He knows he's in trouble with two girls who love to shop. ; -)

You were watching Dora at Nana's house one morning and she accidentally changed the channel. You looked at her and said, "Oh no, Nana, what happened?" Cutest thing ever.

We went into TJ Maxx and you said, "Mama, I don't see any toys." So of course your Nana takes you to pick out whatever you want. What do you think it was? Another baby doll. That brings the count up to 564. Spoiled rotten.

You love to color in your Minnie Mouse coloring book that Ashley and the twins gave you. You lay on your tummy when you do so.

You recite some lines from your favorite movies. "Poor Nana."-Peter Pan

When Kason's feet kick you if we are all cuddled up on the bed or couch, you say, "Excuse you Kason!"

You ask, "Where's Dada? Where's Dada? My Dada!"

We curl up under blankets together, and you say, "Mama, cozy!"

You ask Cody for his smoothie when you see him with one.

If you don't like something, you're sure to tell us! "No, I don't like that."

A lady handed you a sucker at the bank...not something I give you. Now you tell me you want to go to the bank to get a sucker.

"Swing me."

You weren't a fan of the Easter bunny, and said, "No God, I don't like the Easter bunny."

In your highest pitched voice, "Kason, I miss you! I haven't seen you all day!" This happens when he wakes up from naps.

"Dada, tuck me in?"

"Mama, no Easter bunny? Easter bunny bye bye? Mama, no bears?"

While reading a new library book, "Mama! Ariel's aked! (naked) Dada buy Ariel clothes. Ariel, get dressed!"

"Kason, Lolo asleep. Shh...."

"Mama, bear go potty in just a minute."

"That's gross."

"Can I play with this?"

"Lolo needs Coco."

While riding in the car, and laying down at night,  "Wheels on the bus go round and round, all day wong!

"I coming!"

You went with me to get my hair trimmed and sat on my lap like a champ. Afterwards, you said, "Mama, Toni made a mess mama's haircut!"

You LOOOOOVE the pink baby Nana let you pick at TJ Maxx. You even wake up at 3 am looking for it.

Lolo sneezed, and you said, "Bless you Lolo, bless you! Lolo, you need a tissue?"

While playing in the living room while Daddy watched golf, he yelled out, "Yes! He won the masters!" You repeated this line over and over! haha

"Shannon, where are you??" Thank you family for teaching my name to you. Oh dear.

"Kason, I miss you."

"Dora give slider cookies. CoCo likes cookies."

Whew! I'm sure you've said many other funny and cute things, but this is what I have for now. You still love to learn. You know all colors, and can sort them with 100% accuracy, no help. You count to 15, but skip 4. You count to 10 in Spanish, skipping some numbers.

We are just so blessed by you every day, and know that there are only many more fun times to come! Thank you for lighting up our lives in a way that only you could do. You are a true gift, and we cherish every second with you.

Love you to the moon and back sweet pumpkin,

XOXO
Mommy, Daddy, & Kason

Kason-2 Months!

My sweet little guy-

Get used to me saying this, but I CANNOT believe you are 2 months already, but at the same time I can't picture our lives without you in it. You fit into our lives so well, and we are so blessed to have you. You fill our lives with so much joy.

You are smiling, cooing, and showing us more of your personality each day. It is truly one of the best parts of parenting when you see your baby smile the first time! Nothing beats the gummy first smiles of a new baby! I love it!

You LOVE your big sister. When she is near, even if she isn't paying attention to you (which she often is), you get the biggest smile on your face. You are sleeping well, with a 6-7 hour stretch in the beginning of the night, and then a 3-4 hour stretch. I'll take it! :) As far as naps, we were keeping you up a little too long in between each nap time, and you were pretty cranky. We wondered if it was colic, but determined (with the help of your pediatrician Aunt CoCo) that you were just overly tired. Now that we have that figured out, you are pretty easy-going. You do love your sleep! You nap best during the day in the Ergo. We have gotten so much use out of it because it helps me to attend to your big sister as well.

You do have a little bit of reflux. This is new territory for us since Lexi did not have it, but we have figured out some things to help you. We also discussed it with your doctor, and he was pleased with everything we were already doing. Your 2 month checkup went great, and you are healthy as can be!

Two-Month Stats:

Weight- almost 11 pounds (10%)--What can I say? I have small babies!
Height- 22.5 inches (30%)--Kind of shocked me, because you seem like you are long, but maybe it's just your build
Diapers- size 1
Clothes- 0-3, some newborn..if we push it, but mainly only tops...pants are too short

We cannot wait for the many months to come with you. You are such a delight! We love and adore you!

XOXO,
Mommy & Daddy

Lexi- 22 Months (Mar. 23)

Lexi,

You are almost 2 years old!! What a big month this has been for you in talking...you love learning new things, and we love to watch you learn!



Here's what you've been up to lately:

You can fill in the blanks for several songs, and even sing some songs from front to finish (row row row your boat is your favorite)

You dislike time out. You don't go there very often, but when you do, you are not a fan!

We caught you getting a box off the shelf...you said, "Dada's cereal!" It was Captain Crunch Berries...you sat down and helped yourself! haha

You are a big help with Kason. When he is upset, you find his binkie and give it to him. You also bring him blankets and toys.

You love your look and find Minnie book and you are really good at it!

Your favorite books this month are Fancy Nancy's Easter, Nursery Rhyme Collection, and I'm a Big Sister.

You love LoLo and baby talk when talking to her. It's stinking cute!!

You love your Melissa and Doug princess magnetic dress up set!

Many days after daylight savings, you were sleeping in until 10!

Unprompted, you counted in the bathtub 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

If we say one, you say dos. You actually fill in the blank when we keep counting in spanish too!

You do not like the Easter bunny!! You're terrified of him actually! You didn't want to get anywhere near him, so Kason took a picture with him solo. Better luck next year??

You're still very girly, loving necklaces, lipstick (chapstick), having your nails painted, and dressing up

You HATE getting your nails and toe nails clipped. It is not fun for either of us.

You are still in many 18 month clothes, some things are 18-24 months though. Not sure on your weight, and you won't go back to the doctor until you're two. You wear size 3 diapers.

You love waffles, milk with ovaltine, strawberries, grapes, oranges, pineapple, bunny crackers, fruit snacks (you don't get these very often), yogurt, yogurt drinks, macaroni and cheese, chicken, chips and salsa (something new we let you try when we go out to eat mexican), and eggs.

We love you oh so much! We cannot believe you are ours, and thank God for you each and every day!! You continue to bless all of those who are around you. You have the sweetest nature, but you are very independent. We are also going through a "That's mine,"stage....completely normal for your age, but we are still working on it. You love to play with other kids, but if they are your toys, you like to be in charge of what they play with. Again, something we are working on...

We look forward to what is to come, especially all the fun things we have planned for you this spring/summer!

We love you to the moon and back!

XOXO,
Mommy, Daddy, & Kason

Kason's Birth Story Part 3

"Keith, you can get some gloves on, and help out with the delivery if you want. You can even gown up, and I'll let you deliver this baby."

"Okay! I think I'll do that. Wait...Shannon, is that okay with you? Do you feel okay about that?"

"Yeah, I'm comfortable with whatever you trust and decide."

Five sets of pushes later, Keith touches our baby for the first time. "Shannon, I promise, as soon as I can, I will hand him to you."

"It's okay, but is he okay?" He wasn't crying, so I was concerned. Apparently, the cord was around his neck. Keith stayed so calm about it, that I had no idea until hours after the birth when he told me.

"Yeah, he's fine. I just need to suction him."

Tears came streaming, and before I knew it, I had a new life on my chest. There is NO greater feeling than meeting your baby for the first time. I wish I could relive that over and over. It would never get old.

I asked if he had to leave, or if we could keep him in the room. They came and did his bath, weight, length, and all that fun stuff in our room. It was SO nice not having to be apart from him like we did with Lexi. Praise God for that! We were a little bummed that my mom and sister didn't make it in time, but as I said before, no one knew it would go that fast. Keith went down to the waiting room to see if anyone had arrived yet, and as soon as my mom saw him, she said, "Don't tell me she had him already." Keith's response, "Yup, I just delivered him. Come see!"

As soon as I saw Lexi wheeled in in her blue stroller, I nearly lost it. She was so serious, quiet, and confused. All of these characteristics are unlike her, if you know her at all. She quickly warmed up once she got to come sit by me on the bed, and we gave her a big sister gift from Baby Kason.

I was able to feed Kason within the first hour he was born...what a world of a difference this made! We had no complications, he was a champ! The nurses were all very pleased and impressed that we had such success since I had a few complications with Lexi in the beginning.

Now, before I make you wait any longer, here is his debut...World, meet Kason Hayes...7 pounds, 3 ounces, 20 inches.

Newborn pictures to come...birth announcements are being sent this week, so I don't want to spoil that! ;)

Kason's Birth Story Part 2

The nurse had a difficult time with the hep-block, and it seriously hurt! I knew this pain was completely irrelevant compared to the pain I would eventually feel. Around 8:00 that night, the first round of medication was started. My contractions picked up, but nothing too painful, just cramps for now. When it was time to administer the next round, they were unable to because my contractions were too consistent. About an hour later, they came back and tried again.

Keith and I didn't really sleep much that night. At 9:00, we got to watch one of Keith's favorite shows, Nashville. That was the first time I had watched a TV show (other than Sesame Street) from start to finish since probably before Lexi was born. In the middle of the night, Keith was by my side watching the monitor. He was a little concerned about Kason's heart rate, but I told him he couldn't sit there all night and worry. I knew the nurses at the nurse station were keeping an eye on it. At some point in the night, Keith pointed out the empty bassinet. I held back tears as I thought about how that bed would soon be filled with this new little life God was blessing us with.

Around 3:30 that morning, my doctor pops in, and says, "Good morning! How's it going?" He asked how much I was dilated last time they had checked (1), and then told us he had a lot going on that day, but that he was going to do his best to catch this baby. I felt so bad for him, because he was completely crushed about rupturing his achilles. That is a major injury to someone who runs, and he was upbeat still, but you could tell he was down.

At 6:00 a.m., pitocin was started. They started out high, then dropped it down. The next time I looked, it was HIGH (I think around 12, when I had started at 3). Contractions got pretty intense pretty fast at this point. I was informed that the hospitalist would come in to break my water. Keith and I had no clue who the hospitalist was, so Keith went down to the nurse's station to ask if Dr. Wilson (a 3-year resident Keith knew and trusted), could do it. He came pretty quickly, and was very peppy! I asked him if he would wait until I wasn't contracting, and informed him I was a bad patient. He was very patient with me, and got the job done quickly. He informed us I was now a 4, and 70% effaced. Of course, the contractions picked up more at this time.

My mom and sister were being informed throughout all of this, but no one honestly had no idea how fast/slow this was going to go, especially since with Lexi, it was an all-day process. Around 10 a.m., I got the epdiural (I knew this time around, as much as I didn't want to get one, that I was not going to be a hero and go through the pain of piton contractions ALL day long.) An hour later, I was an 8...

Within the next half hour, nurses were switching (mine got sick and had to go home), and prepping the room for the delivery. WOW! That was all I could think...I was going to have a new baby in my arms shortly. Dr. Sterling was in another surgery at this point, but Dr. Rapp would be coming soon, my nurses informed me. They had me do a few practice pushes, then lay on my right side to get my cervix to move the little bit that it needed to, and within 10 minutes or so, my body was ready! In walks Dr. Rapp, I had nurses on either side along with my supportive husband. Let's get this party started!

Kason- One Month!

Dear Kason,

Just like I say with all of your sister's monthly posts, I wish I could slow time down. It is bittersweet watching my babies grow up. On the sweet side, I know all the fun that is to come, but I absolutely LOVE every stage. I love you as a sweet, cuddly, newborn. Your daddy and I are so excited to see your personality bloom. Right now, you seem to be pretty passive. You are a tough little guy, well...you kind of have to be. Your older sister ADORES you, but hasn't quite mastered what it means to be gentle and soft with you. Don't worry though. We're working on it. ; )

You won't go back to the doctor until your 2 month checkup, but when we went for your 2-week appointment, you were almost 9 pounds! Who is this big guy?! Lexi did not weigh 9,9 until 2 months! You are a pro-eater. You eat fast, and that had me a little concerned because I wasn't sure how much you were actually getting, but it appears to be that you are just efficient. Your doctor was very pleased with your weight gain, and said everything about you looks very healthy! Yay! Praise the Lord for healthy babies. I've learned that good health is not something to be taken for granted, and am especially grateful that God trusts your daddy and me with you and your big sister.

You are sleeping pretty well, eating every 3-5 hours at night, depending on the night, and every 3 during the day. You have went through some periods of cluster feeding, and daylight savings time kind of threw us for a loop, but nothing major.

We are so in love with you, and cannot believe we have double to love now! I knew I would love you, I just had no idea the human heart could stretch to this capacity. We are so blessed by our days with you, and look forward to all the fun that is to come.

XOXO,
Mommy & Daddy